The seeds of creativity are nested inside each one of us. Nourish them and they will eventually blossom into amazing art, regardless the tools we use for this mission: music or visual arts. 

Clovis Bouhier is one human who could easily switch from music to photography and back, while keeping his unique vibe no matter the tools used to express his creativity. I met Clovis 10 years ago in Misbits’ backyard: the perfect place to get lost in long discussions about music, about underground culture or about… beer :)  Actually, Misbits became one of his favourite record shops everywhere and we cannot argue with that!

Here, there is a certain respect for good sound and long sets & parties that you don’t find so often.

Born in L.A., now living in Berlin, he absorbed influences from every place he went, so he has a lot of stories to tell. As a DJ and record selector, his narrative is filled with all sorts of plot twists, from industrial Detroit to minimalistic Berlin and groovy Mamaia beaches. 

But a pandemic was needed to discover Clovis as a photographer. And what’s more delightful than a Californian living in Berlin who has chosen to spend more than a year in Romania, documenting the daily reality in and out of the cities.

I spent a portion of the corona pandemic in Bucharest, about a year and a few months. I moved from Berlin because everything was shut down and needed a change of scenery, and moved in with my close friend Herodot, so we could work in his studio.

All this research was made through the lenses of a fine observer who interacted with Romania at all levels for more than 10 years, as Clovis is: Here, there is a certain respect for good sound and long sets & parties that you don’t find so often. The beautiful legacy of arpiar and Sunwaves has left a lot of space for a whole scene of artists, DJs, events and music heads to flourish behind.

Bucharest, as we, Romanians, know it, is a city of contrasts, like many other metropolis around the world: ruins right next to luxury condominiums, stray dogs eating from trash within walking distance from a posh terrace where people enjoy their 8 euros capuccino… Mirroring his versatile DJing skills (check the Jazz mixtape below if you don’t trust us), Clovis captured these Romanian contrasts with ease.

 

These pictures are taken with my trusty Panasonic Lumix LX10. It has a great Leica 24-72mm f/1.4-2.8 lens which is very bright for a small compact camera.

His vast experience with the Romanian culture helped a lot: many trips here, scattered across his 10 years relationship with these magic lands: Sunwaves 13, 2013. It was my first time in Romania and I had never experienced our music like that before…

Speaking of contrasts, as cosmopolite and refined our club culture looks in the eyes of foreigners, as striking are the Middle Age like habits of building useless temples: For me [the most outrageous thing in Romania] would obviously be the massive and grotesque ‘People’s Salvation Cathedral’ being built opposite the palace of parliament.

So, we invite you on a train ride through Romania, as seen through Clovis’ viewfinder 👇